Dr. April Lindner, a professor and poet who has also updated the Brontë sisters in two novels for young adults, is the guest speaker for Bluffton University’s 32nd annual English Festival on Oct. 20.

In the English Festival Forum, at 11 a.m. that Tuesday in Founders Hall, Lindner will address why so many readers enjoy new versions of old myths and stories. Her talk, titled “Re-Imaginings: Messing with the Classics,” is free and open to the public.

A professor of English at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, Lindner is the author of “Jane” and “Catherine,” modern versions of Charlotte Brontë’s “Jane Eyre” and Emily Brontë’s “Wuthering Heights,” respectively. She has also written “Love, Lucy,” a retelling of “A Room with a View” by E.M. Forster, as well as two books of poetry.

Lindner is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, Sarah Lawrence College and the University of Cincinnati, where she earned her Ph.D. in 1998.